BY BETTINA KRAUSE AND WILLIAM JOHNSSON

eventh-day Adventists in Hong Kong celebrated 100 years of Adventist work among Chinese people, with two days of events that recalled past accomplishments and highlighted future challenges. "One hundred years of community service" was a central theme of the celebrations, as Adventist leaders vowed to enter the new century with renewed emphasis on the church being a visible, positive presence in society through education, health care, and humanitarian assistance.

Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Adventist world church, visited Hong Kong to participate in the celebrations, which began with a ceremony at Hong Kong Adventist College and Sam Yuk Middle School November 15, 2002.

On Sabbath morning, November 16, more than 1,000 people filled the main auditorium of Hong Kong Polytechnic University for a three-hour festival of music, drama, and presentations.

"It is important to remember the past," Paulsen told those gathered for the event. "It is important to honor the men and women who have brought us to this moment. But the future is where we are going to live."

Down through the ages God's people have seen themselves as pilgrims, as people on a journey, said Paulsen. "They are conscious that this is not their permanent home-God is preparing something else." Paulsen acknowledged that the life of a pilgrim can be difficult, but urged believers never to lose faith in the future. "Do not let anyone deprive you of the certainty that you are a child of God, destined for the kingdom."

During the Sabbath morning celebration young people performed a drama highlighting pivotal moments in the early Adventist work in the region. Chinese Adventists trace the beginning of missionary outreach among Chinese people to Abram La Rue, who arrived in Hong Kong in 1888. La Rue, an American, was in his mid-60s when he began his work. He was a shepherd and woodcutter with no formal training as a pastor-a fact that, along with his age, led the General Conference to reject his request to serve as a missionary to China. Undeterred, La Rue found his own way to Hong Kong where his work paved the way for J. N. Anderson, the church's first official missionary to China, who arrived in 1902, along with his wife and Ida Thompson, Mrs. Anderson's sister.

Several scenes of the drama portrayed moments from the life of Dr. Harry Miller, famous as the China Doctor. In one the young doctor struggled with the Chinese language. He sent a helper to purchase some nuts, but the man returned with string! (The words sound alike.) The following scene, however, brought the audience to tears as Dr. Miller buried his wife of only three years, dead at 25.

A highlight of the morning service was the release and presentation of a two-volume set of the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in China, edited by Dr. Samuel Young.

Gerald Christiansen, 88-year-old former missionary to China, was among a small group of honored missionaries at a Sabbath afternoon program at Tai Po Sam Yuk Secondary School. Christiansen, who first traveled to China in 1939, called the growth of the church among Chinese people "a great accomplishment of the Lord."

"You, the young generation, God is calling you today to take up the torch into the new century," Christiansen told the hundreds of young people in the audience.

Elder David Lin also spoke at the afternoon program. Lin, who served as secretary of the China Division, spent many years in prison. He told of "three modern apostles," all single women missionaries, who profoundly influenced his life. The first, a Miss Pyle, started a girls' school to which the 12-year-old girl who would become David's mother was sent. Here the girl learned to pray; and later, when her son David, 2, was at the point of death, she prayed for his healing and dedicated him to the Lord. Another missionary, Miss Dunn, led his mother to the Sabbath teachings and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A third woman, Lucy Andrews, invited David to her home to study the Bible. He began to keep the Sabbath.

Pastor James Wu, president of the Chinese Union Mission, agreed that the centennial celebration was a time for looking to the future of the church's work among Chinese communities around the world. "We hope through this centennial celebration our young people, our new generation of ministers, will catch the spirit of our pioneers, who were so dedicated, so sacrificing," he said. "We hope this spirit will be on fire in our new generation."

The administrative headquarters of the church in Hong Kong is known as the Chinese Union Mission. Although it primarily oversees church operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao, its mission is not confined to one geographical region but extends to Chinese people wherever they live around the world, from New Zealand to the United States to Britain.

There are some 15,000 Adventists in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao, and the Adventist church in these countries operates four hospitals and medical clinics, along with 12 kindergartens, schools, and colleges. The more than 300,000 Adventist believers in the People's Republic of China direct their own programs under the umbrella of the state-approved Three-Self Movement.

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Bettina Krause is news director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church; William Johnsson is editor of the Adventist Review.

Web Site to Support Sow One Billion Initiative
The Seventh-day Adventist Church=s recently unveiled Sow One Billion evangelistic initiative to reach one billion homes around the world in the next 18 months will soon have an integrated approach via the Internet. At a recent November meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Adventist-Laymen Services and Industries (ASI) technology committee endorsed a plan to develop a comprehensive Web application to maximize the initiative's objectives.

"We are particularly excited about the Sow One Billion initiative and how technology and the Internet can be utilized to respond to the requests for Bible studies from around the world," said Dan Houghton of Hart Research Center, chairman of the ASI technology committee.

The committee discussed the logistics of making the project a success and met with representatives of the Voice of Prophecy Bible correspondence school whose "Discover" and other Bible lessons, available in 66 languages, have been popular around the world.

In order to achieve the anticipated results, the initiative will rely on the global availability of Bible study guides through the use of the Internet and other response options available. The Web application for Sow One Billion will aim to coordinate the availability of Bible courses currently offered by the church in nearly 135 Bible correspondence schools internationally.

The goal of Sow One Billion is to distribute one billion special brochures, or "tracts," inviting people to study the Bible with an Adventist pastor or layperson, or through an Adventist Bible correspondence school. Church leaders say the far-reaching project will require cooperation and participation at all levels of the world church.

"The mission of the ASI technology committee is to bring together a group of bright minds to consider ways to harness technology more effectively for the sharing of the gospel around the world," Houghton says. "A major benefit to the committee is learning about initiatives that are in progress and how various ministries and organizations can coordinate efforts for maximum benefit to the mission of the church."

The committee's interests include developing specific applications for evangelism, on-line Bible study, language translation and the distribution of written materials around the world, on-line education initiatives, and maximizing the use of the Internet. "Our committee also evaluates the latest tools and inventions," Houghton says. "Lately we investigating how to establish infrastructures for distributing content in a PDA format across the Internet."

According to Houghton, the international Web site of the Sow One Billion initiative will be ready by September 2003.   --Adventist News Network

Maryland Police Chief Recognized by Adventist Congregation
Expressing gratitude to the law enforcement team that brought an end to the sniper shootings that terrorized the Washington, D.C. area for more than three weeks in October, the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church in Takoma Park, Maryland, presented the 2002 Caring Heart Award to Montgomery County police chief Charles A. Moose.

A congregation of nearly 2,000 members, together with the family of Premkumar Walekar, a member of Sligo Church who was one of the sniper's victims, recognized Moose for outstanding public service. Moose was presented with a crystal heart accompanied by a plaque with the engraved words "He who seeks good finds goodwill."

"This fall...we became acquainted with fear first hand. ...We realized that evil can indeed put righteous people in its crosshairs and pull the trigger," Sligo senior pastor Peter Bath said. "But we also realized and affirm the fact that the God of grace never leaves nor forsakes us...that grace triumphs over evil."

As the Sabbath service program for November 23 noted, Moose was honored for "his steady demeanor, careful approach in managing the crisis team, and voice of compassion which helped keep our Washington community together during a time of escalating fear and uncertainty." "As a people of hope," Bath said, "[we] must take back the night of fear and make a difference in how we live." He noted that the Walekar family had recommended Chief Moose for Sligo's annual caring heart award.

Andrea Walekar told the congregation that she and her mother, Margaret, and brother Andrew, still grapple with the loss of her father. She reaffirmed their conviction that "God makes no mistakes, and with Him all things are possible."

"By answering our prayers, God was able to help Chief Moose find the sniper, and today we would like to thank Chief Moose and all the law enforcement for helping our community to be a safer place," she said.

Moose expressed admiration for the way the family had dealt with their loss. Addressing Mrs. Walekar, he said, "Your witness has blessed my heart."

"This community has come together...and has learned and will continue to learn," Moose affirmed. "I hope that we will never forget the victims and their loved ones."                             --Adventist News Network

New ADRA Children's Activity Book
Focuses on Health and HIV/AIDS
The new children's activity book recently published by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International focuses on health and HIV/AIDS.

"With World AIDS Day being commemorated on December 1, we=re pleased to offer an activity book with basic information about HIV/AIDS and activities that reassure children that God loves them and instills in them the need for understanding," says Tereza Byrne, bureau chief for marketing and development at ADRA International. "It's natural to want to shield our children from illness and disease; however, we want to encourage the compassionate nature of children."

Available in both English and Spanish, the 16-page activity books include sketches to color and activities such as a maze, math and word puzzles, a dot-to-dot picture, and a good health game. These books are appropriate for use in children=s activities in churches or classrooms. Complimentary copies are available (while supplies last) by calling 1-800-424-2372. Please specify whether you want the book in English or Spanish or both.

Service Organization Helps Adventist Victim
The Fullerton (California) Breakfast Lions Club has established a fund to aid Carol Guscott, an Adventist profiled in the Adventist Review story, "She Refused to Die," (Dec. 2002). The fund, administered by the Lions Club, pays medical treatments and living expenses for Guscott, blinded and disfigured by a vicious attack. Donations can be made to: The Carol Guscott Relief Fund, c/o Fullerton Lions Breakfast Club, Attn: David Crawford, Post Office Box 3637, Fullerton, CA 92834. Phone: 714-521-0735.

News Notes

The first ever Inter-American youth evangelism campaign recently completed a two-week satellite broadcast from Mexico City. The broadcast was the culmination of youth-led evangelistic campaigns in churches throughout Inter-America beginning last July. Each program during the campaign was led by young people, ages 11 to 32, representing the 13 unions of the church in the Inter-American Division (IAD). There were 60,641 baptisms as a result of these campaigns.

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